Day 4
Yesterday morning, we marvelled at a 4x4 struggling to tow a Transit van up the hill. Yesterday afternoon, we marvelled at a council lorry coming down the hill to fill the grit bin at the bottom. I suspect it's been emptied now, but some of our neighbours appear to have cleared enough of a track up the hill in the mean time.
This morning I went to get a paper, as usual, and observed that the track ran out at the next house up the hill beyond our garage, and the flat section at the top looked rather treacherous. The petrol station had papers but no milk. As I returned, I noticed possibly the same lorry and a council digger heading into uitlander's former estate. As far as milk goes, we're now into the soya substitute, which seems to be surprisingly palatable and has obviously been flavoured to taste something like semi-skimmed, I think.
So we cleared more of the driveway (it's double-width) and I did a three-point turn so that I could drive out forwards, and we headed to Sainsbury's. The stretch of road that looked treacherous was treacherous, but fortunately no-one was coming in the opposite direction and cars were parked with sufficient space to pass. Once out onto the treated roads, it wasn't too bad. Even Reading Buses were running (only as far as the roundabout on the main road through the village).
Sainsbury's was hell, though the provisions we required were generally in stock. I suppose I had bought more than usual, but still, I could have done without the re-scan, especially as they kept announcing that they were doing their best to keep people moving at the busy checkouts.
I'm in two minds about whether to head out for work on Monday. I gather from people at work that the roads probably get better as you head towards Oxford. I suspect it largely depends on what happens meteorologically between now and then - if the forecast is accurate, we will miss the worst of the snow on Sunday evening. (But we are due "light snow" from this afternoon onwards, and the BBC's definition of "light" does not seem to correspond to mine).
This morning I went to get a paper, as usual, and observed that the track ran out at the next house up the hill beyond our garage, and the flat section at the top looked rather treacherous. The petrol station had papers but no milk. As I returned, I noticed possibly the same lorry and a council digger heading into uitlander's former estate. As far as milk goes, we're now into the soya substitute, which seems to be surprisingly palatable and has obviously been flavoured to taste something like semi-skimmed, I think.
So we cleared more of the driveway (it's double-width) and I did a three-point turn so that I could drive out forwards, and we headed to Sainsbury's. The stretch of road that looked treacherous was treacherous, but fortunately no-one was coming in the opposite direction and cars were parked with sufficient space to pass. Once out onto the treated roads, it wasn't too bad. Even Reading Buses were running (only as far as the roundabout on the main road through the village).
Sainsbury's was hell, though the provisions we required were generally in stock. I suppose I had bought more than usual, but still, I could have done without the re-scan, especially as they kept announcing that they were doing their best to keep people moving at the busy checkouts.
I'm in two minds about whether to head out for work on Monday. I gather from people at work that the roads probably get better as you head towards Oxford. I suspect it largely depends on what happens meteorologically between now and then - if the forecast is accurate, we will miss the worst of the snow on Sunday evening. (But we are due "light snow" from this afternoon onwards, and the BBC's definition of "light" does not seem to correspond to mine).